From Bengal to Bridgetown: Tracing the Indian Journey to Barbados
Barbados is often described as “Little England” for its cricket, its rum, and its beaches. But walk down Wellington Street in Bridgetown on a Friday, hear a Diwali Puja from a temple in Black Rock, or see the name “Nakhuda” on a shop front, and you are reminded of another story. It is the story of Indian merchants who arrived not on indenture ships, but with suitcases, and who helped shape modern Barbados.
Where is Barbados?
Barbados sits in the eastern Caribbean Sea, about 160 km east of Saint Vincent and just northeast of Venezuela. The island is 34 km long and 23 km wide, with Bridgetown as its capital and chief port. Because it lies on Atlantic trade routes linking North America, South America, Africa and Europe, Barbados has always been a place where people passed through , and some stayed. That is how Indians came.
No Indenture, A Different Route
Unlike Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica and Suriname, Barbados did not receive Indian indentured labourers in the 19th century. The Indian community here came voluntarily, in waves, and each wave took a different route to get here.
The Bengal Route, 1910–1920s
The first recorded Indian arrivals were Muslim merchants from West Bengal. Bashart Ali Dewan is said to have arrived around 1910. Abdul Rohul Amin, a silk merchant, followed in 1913.
They travelled the way many Indian traders did at the time: by steamship from Calcutta to Colombo or Bombay, through the Suez Canal to Port Said, across the Mediterranean to London, and then onward across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Some stopped in other islands first, but Barbados became home. They settled in central Bridgetown , Wellington Street, Milk Market and Tudor Street, and set up as itinerant traders. Most married local Barbadian women. Many Barbadians prominent in business, law and public life today are their grandchildren.
The Gujarat Route, 1929–1950s
The second wave came from Gujarat in western India. The first Gujarati Muslims arrived around 1929. Their journey was longer. Many had gone first to Brazil to work in timber. When that work ended, they moved to British Guiana. In Georgetown they heard that Barbados needed coal for cooking and that village trading was profitable. So they took coastal boats from Georgetown to Bridgetown, made a few selling trips, and stayed. Letters home brought cousins and brothers and other relations .
The Post-Independence and Diaspora Route, 1960s–Today
After the 1960s, migration continued through family ties. In the last two decades a new stream has emerged: Hindu professionals from South India, and families of Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinidadian origin who came for business, medicine, education and finance.
They did not come by sea. They arrived by air : via London, Toronto, Miami, Port of Spain or Georgetown. With them came new names and new traditions. Surnames such as Ramdass, Singh, Maharaj, Patel, Reddy, Nakhuda and Bulbulia, and first names like Devi, Lakshmi, Raj, Anil, Priya and Sanjay are now part of the Bajan landscape. At present , the Indian community comprises of about 3,200 people, roughly 1.2% of Barbados’ population of 280,000. They are called Indo-Bajans or East Indians. A large number of the second and third generation Indians from Barbados have moved to the US for employment and permanent settlement.
From “Coolie Men” to Corner Shops
The earliest Indians were known locally as “coolie men” , not as an insult, but because they walked from village to village with suitcases on their backs, like the porters of India. They sold cloth, silk, bangles and household goods in rural districts where Bridgetown shops did not reach. More importantly, they introduced hire-purchase, or credit. Working-class Barbadians could pay in instalments. That system built trust and transformed retail. Over two generations, families moved from peddling to owning. Today Indo-Bajan businesses range from supermarkets and import firms to pharmacies, hardware stores and restaurants. They helped widen access to goods and contributed to the island’s consumer economy.
Faith, Food and Festivals
The community is religiously diverse ; Muslim, Hindu and Christian. The Gujaratis strengthened mosques and Islamic education. Later Hindu immigrants built temples and organised public celebrations. Hinduism is now one of Barbados’ fastest-growing faiths. Diwali, Navratri and Holi are marked with lights, music and community feasts. Bhajans are sung, vegetarian cooking classes are held, and Bollywood nights are popular.
Indian food entered the Bajan diet largely through later arrivals from Guyana and Trinidad. Roti, curry, dal and sweets are now sold in markets across the island.
In dress, the early Bengali and Gujarati men wore Kurtas and Lungis, later changing to shirts and trousers. Hindu women wore Saris and Salwar Kameez for temple. Today you will see all of it blended with Bajan style , a sari at Crop Over, a Kurta at a wedding. Community historians have worked to record this. Sabir Nakhuda and Suleiman Bulbulia established the "Bengal to Barbados: A 100 Year History" project and the "Bengal to Barbados Foundation" . Their archives collect stories from Bengal, Gujarat, Sindh and South India.
A Distinct Indo-Bajan Identity
Because they came as traders, not labourers, Indo-Bajans followed a different path from Indians in neighbouring islands. They integrated through commerce and family, not through plantation life.
The result is a distinct identity. Indo-Bajans speak with a Bajan accent, celebrate Crop Over, support the West Indies cricket team, and also observe Eid and Diwali. They are neither fully “Indian” nor identical to Afro-Caribbean Creoles. They are Bajan, with Indian roots.
About Sindhi immigrants in Barbados, Lavina Melwani writes this in Hinduism Today :
Barbados has a tightly-knit community of just 80 Sindhi families, and every one of them has a home shrine. The Sabnanis’ shrine is especially handsome, with beautiful idols and pictures, incense, bells and a light which burns constantly, be it day or night. It is this spiritual spark which is remarkable about the community here. Indeed, for many years the Sindhis kept Hinduism alive solely through their private shrines at home, which paid tribute to every Hindu deity, to the Bhagavad Gita and the Guru Granth Sahib, too. A Hindu temple for the community was a dream for a long time, but it was only a few years back that a Sindhi businessman and philanthropist donated the building which has become Barbados’ first and only Hindu temple.
The earliest Sindhi settlers came from Rajasthan and Bombay 50 years ago, before Independence. In fact, a few hardy souls were there early in 1945. Some of the first families who came here were the Thanis, Motwanis and Kripalani, and these are still well-known names on the island. Many of these entrepreneurs started their businesses in the old days by going into the countryside on bicycles and selling their goods from suitcases.
Today, the Indian community comprises people from many regions, but the primary group is still the Sindhis. According to Prakash Mahtani, a community leader, 95 percent of the members of the Hindu Association of Barbados are Sindhis. A majority of Hindus in Barbados are followers of Maharaj Charansinghji of Beas (a district of Amritsar in the Punjab), Sri Satya Sai Baba or Sadhu Vaswani. It is a community of many vegetarians and teetotalers. In fact, when the Sabnanis planned their son’s wedding, this all-important point was well considered. They had to make sure the cake and refreshments would not offend anyone."
Barbados on the World Stage
Barbados itself has gained global recognition in recent years, and the island’s Indian community shares in that pride. Five things that have put Barbados on the world map:
1. Rihanna, the global singer, songwriter, actress and designer, born in Saint Michael.
2. Sir Garfield Sobers , widely regarded as cricket’s greatest all-rounder, born in Bay Land.
3. The Honourable Mia Mottley , Barbados’ first female Prime Minister and a leading voice on climate and Caribbean unity.
4. Mount Gay Distillery, established in 1703, it produces the oldest rum in the world.
5. The beaches, from Carlisle Bay to Crane Beach, known for their white sand and calm waters.
Barbados also hosts the headquarters of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), which sets exams for 16 Caribbean countries. CXC has been under public scrutiny recently over its grading system. Prime Minister Mottley also chairs CARICOM, the Caribbean Community. In that role she was central to the regional effort that helped restore democracy in Guyana after the disputed vote count in March 2020.
Some years back, the Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre (ICC) held a pan-Caribbean Zoom meeting titled “The Indian community in Barbados: business, religion and race relations.”
It was chaired by Sharlene Maharaj of Trinidad and Tobago and moderated by Sadhana Mohan of Suriname. Speakers discussed the role of Indo-Bajans in business, the growth of Hindu and Muslim institutions, interfaith harmony, and how young Indo-Bajans navigate identity in a predominantly Afro-Caribbean society.
Conclusion
The Indian journey to Barbados was not one of ships and contracts. It was one of trade routes, family letters, and long walks with a suitcase. From Calcutta through Suez, and from Bombay via Brazil and Guyana, they came seeking opportunity. They found it, and they stayed.
From those first merchants on Wellington Street to today’s teachers, doctors and entrepreneurs, Indo-Bajans have added new threads to the Bajan tapestry : new names, new faiths, new foods, and a commitment to island life.
As Barbados continues to assert itself globally, the story of its Indian community reminds us that this small island’s strength has always been in the people who came, adapted, and made it home.
This blogger
( Avtar Mota )
